Iran target of US Gulf military moves, Gates says

[sabra]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,1990962,00.html

Iran target of US Gulf military moves, Gates says
Guardian Unlimited

Increased US military activity in the Gulf is aimed at Iran's "very negative" behaviour, the Bush administration said today.

The defence secretary, Robert Gates, told reporters that the decision to deploy a Patriot missile battalion and a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf in conjunction with a "surge" of troops in Iraq was designed to show Iran that the US was not "overcommitted" in Iraq.

Speaking in Brussels after meeting Nato officials, Mr Gates said: "We are simply reaffirming that statement of the importance of the Gulf region to the United States and our determination to be an ongoing strong presence in that area for a long time into the future."

His remarks followed tough comments on Iran at the weekend from other senior US officials. The vice-president, Dick Cheney, accused Iran of "fishing in troubled waters inside Iraq", while the national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, said the US was "going to need to deal with what Iran is doing inside Iraq".

[LynnTheDem]

1. As every sovereign state has the inalienable right to self-defense, and since

the birth of the Bush Doctrine, it seems Iran now has the green light to defend itself premptorily.

[LynnTheDem]

2. "our determination to be a strong presence..for a long time into the future"

Because of the "importance of the Gulf Region to the United States"

It's always been the OIL, stupid.

[madokie]

3. Sure it is and they keep reminding us of that fact, I think inadvertently

sometimes in denial comes confirmation

[bdamomma]

4. so we bomb people's negative behaviour, what has happened

to diplomatic talks, it all goes back to "your with us or against us" Bush should just go away, sick bastard he is.

[mmonk]

5. They create their own reality, remember?

Sit back and enjoy.

[Eugene]

6. But the U.S. *IS* overcommitted in Iraq. We know it. They know it.

The Bush admin. is hell-bent on reshaping the Middle East by force.
The Bushies are acting as if diplomacy is an admission of weakness.
However, an adversary can see this kind of posturing as a sign of
desperation and confusion.

America needs to be tough with Iran, sure. It should not be stupid
about it.

[oldpolicy]

7. When did we become the gods of the planet? Maybe * just doesn;'

talk to God - maybe he thinks he is god. Anyone hear of * being tagged as the Second Coming person?